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Saugeen Shores Town Council meeting on Monday, November 24th began
with what appeared, at first, to be an unusual request ... have Wal Mart
reduce their outdoor lighting in preservation of dark skies.
This is a more complex situation than many may realize.
The Dark Sky movement is international and with reason, it deals with
light pollution which is very real. According to science, light
pollution is seriously damaging to humans, plants and animals.
To understand light pollution, one has to understand what it really is.
Firstly, light pollution is made up of three facets - glare, light
trespass and sky glow.
Glare is that light that shines directly into our eyes reducing
visibility by preventing our ability to see into shaded areas and
usually is a result of misdirected or unshielded lighting. Light
trespass is light that shines where it isn't needed, for instance, into
a neighbour's window. Sky glow is caused by light that shines upward. It
is scattered and can be seen at great distances.
Living in a more northerly rural area, light may not, at first, seem to
be an issue until one looks at the steps being taken as close as
Manitoulin Island, the Bruce Peninsula and Muskoka to prevent light
pollution.
In 1998, the Muskoka Heritage Foundation and the Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources supported a recommendation for dark sky protection at
the then-newly established Torrance Barrens which became Canada's first
dark sky reserve. Since then, all 52 conservation reserves in Parry
Sound region, just on the other side of Lake Huron, "have had dark sky
protection written into their management guidelines".
In fact, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada recognizes three Parks
Canada sites to be Dark Sky preserves, Fort Walsh National Historic Site
in Cypress Hills, Sask., Point Pelee and Elk Island National Park. In
2005, Banff passed a bylaw to curb light pollution and rendered much of
today's current lighting as non-conforming.
Ross Burkinshaw of the Bruce County Astronomical Society (BCAS), who
made the 'dark sky' deputation to council, explained that there were
three groups concerned about the upcoming WalMart development's
lighting. The BCAS, the Owen Sound Field Naturalists (OWFN) and the
Saugeen Field Naturalists (SFN) have all expressed concern regarding
WalMart lighting and requested that the town make an attempt to have the
corporation reduce it by 30% along with a time-controlled operation for
non-peak hours.
"We note that the type of fixtures are full-cut-off and the edge ones
have side shields and, therefore, there has been an effort to reduce
lighting impacts," he pointed out. However, we still feel the amount of
lighting power is inappropriate for our rural setting. Also the paved
parking area, which has no natural vegetation, actually reflects light."
The Giant Tiger parking lot currently has 10 lights with 2-3 foot
candles, Independent Grocer has 26 at 3-4 foot candles, Shoppers Drug
Mart has 7 at 1-2 foot candles, the Plex has 5 lights at 1-3 foot
candles and the new Wal-Mart will have 53 lights while the Owen Sound
WalMart has 40 and Hanover's has 42. "The best lighting is Shoppers Drug
Mart, the Plex and Tim Horton's in Southampton," said Burkinshaw. The
deputation also stressed that, given the proximity to MacGregor National
Provincial Park and the Saugeen Bluffs Conservation Park, the
municipality should be "taking a leadership position on dark sky
preservation". "We don't want to have the problem that Hanover now has,"
said Burkinshaw reading from a submission. "For 25 years, River Place
Park has hosted the world-class astronomical Starfest which draws 1000
people from all over eastern North America. Due to the recent
developments in Hanover however, they are now looking at having to
relocate to the South Bruce Peninsula." (next column)
13/01/2009 04:21 PM |
(continued)
According to the three-group deputation, they want to
work with the town and police services as well as the Wal-Mart
development, Independent Grocers, Home Hardware and other new developers
to "ensure we have adequate lighting for safety while addressing our
environmental stewardship."
The three pointed out that there are simple remedies that have been
suggested by the IDA.
Shield outdoor lighting so that it illuminates downward
Light only when needed using timers and dimmers
Use only enough light to provide adequate safe lighting
Use long wavelength light with a red or yellow tint to minimize impact
It can also be as simple as reducing bulb wattage which, in turn, would
provide a money-saving, energy-saving and pollution-saving solution for
everyone.
In a letter to the group from Dave Burnside, Director of Engineering
Services, he stated, "It is difficult at this time to change any aspect
of the lighting for the WalMart Development as the Town and the
developer of the WalMart property (Smart Centres Shopping) previously
entered into a Site Plan Agreement that can not be revised unless both
parties are willing."
The Town of South Bruce Peninsula has passed a Dark Sky Resolution, that
requests the County of Bruce to adopt similar plans of action and
Richmond Hill, Ontario has also passed a Light Pollution Bylaw #1050
that sets a maximum lighting level of 1.5 foot candles for commercial
parking areas. The International Dark Sky Association (IDA) recommends a
maximum lighting level of 2.4 foot candles for shopping centres.
Burnside did point out however that, "Staff will continue to define and
expand the scope of a light pollution abatement program based primarily
on the requirements of public safety and the preservation of the night
sky. The Town has also adopted Dark Sky compliant luminaries for all new
lighting on town streets and outdoor lighting on all private
properties/development that are under Site Plan Control.""
Councillor Diane Huber said that she really appreciated the presentation
and thought there was merit in coming up with a proposal to limit light
pollution. "The sky here has changed. We should do a little more
research and I like the idea of making recommendations. There was an
issue of safety raised [around this development] but maybe we could do
something when it comes to replacement time."
Deputy Mayor Doug Freiburger, said he too was in total agreement of
trying to preserve the night sky. "I encourage you [the group] to try to
talk to WalMart. Unfortunately, safety is now an issue and I think they
[WalMart] will get bad advice from their legal department."
Councillor Victoria Serda also supported reducing the lighting.
"Lighting needs to be consistent but not necessarily bright," she said.
"It would be good if we could all work together as we also need to all
be concerned with the environment."
"Our position," said Mayor Mike Smith, "is that we have a signed site
plan agreement. We were trying to balance safety and any impact we have
on WalMart now is more persuasive than anything else. The public would
have more of an impact than we do."
It would appear that the Town is not going to move forward on this
issue.
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